


Warning Shots

by cauldronofdoom



Series: mob-verse [5]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Violence, that means they don't play nice, they're in the mob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2012-07-07
Packaged: 2017-11-09 09:44:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cauldronofdoom/pseuds/cauldronofdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve doesn't like it when other people mess with his stuff. He likes it even less when they mess with his people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warning Shots

**Author's Note:**

> There is a death that is both on-screen and premediated, as well as comic-book level violence to the redshirts. If that troubles you, just... tread carefully, okay?

Tony came to tied to a chair, a situation that had been happening less and less as people willing to pay a ransom for him had died off. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty five, he thought he was done with this shit. That was the one bonus for his newfound status as a cubicle rat. 

Well, not that he worked in a cubicle anymore. He’d been two months cubicle-less and living with the local mob. 

He shook his head, trying to clear it. How had he ended up here, again? He remembered…  
*  
“So how do you want to do this? Do you want to take SI totally down? Just Stane? Hostile takeover? I’ve got contacts at SHIELD corp., and I think they’re about the only people that could take out SI totally.” It was one of the things that his people loved about him, that Cap was willing to listen to the opinions and preferences of the people under him. Tony had once again sought him out while he was doing reports, sitting next to him and telling him all about his latest feats of engineering. He’d built a wrist launched taser weapon for Romanov, and it was ready for testing.

A moment of silence had fallen between them after that announcement before Cap had broken it with his non sequitor. Tony didn’t even need to think about what Cap was asking. He was still only really involved in one op.

“Stane needs to be taken down. That’s paramount.” 

Cap nodded. “That’s also non-negotiable. Exactly what we’re going to do to him is still up for discussion, though.”

“I’ll leave that to the fertile and somewhat scary imaginations of Romanov, Clint, and Hill. They’ve got better ideas than me on that front. As for the company…” Tony mulled it over. “I think a hostile takeover would be best. I have nothing against the workers, but I’d like the name destroyed and the board of directors ruling over salted earth, if anything. If we were to cause Stane to fall from grace, we can easily lower stock prices, making things easier for your SHIELD cronies.”

 

Steve nodded off-handedly, still reading his reports. “You have any idea how to do that?”

Tony shrugged. “We have proof he was working with Hydra. Link him in and post it all on the internet. His first instinct will be to squash the rumours, and the internet thrives on defying censorship. Plus we can take my phone, it was a new prototype, and leave it on some dead Hydra’s body for them to find. There’s only about five of them in existence right now. Or, maybe…”  
*  
Nope. That was a full week ago. No way he’d been unconscious that long. Man, did his head hurt. Tony sighed. What had he done the next day?  
*  
Tzat! Romanov grinned evilly as the target displayed readings similar to a high-end taser on max. Carol had offered Clint as an alternative target, but Cap had stepped in before that argument got out of hand. Everyone had gathered to see how the redhead’s new weapon worked, especially since Tony kinda-maybe-sorta might have cannibalized a few kitchen appliances for it (honest, if he’d known Clint was planning on baking cookies he’d have left the mixer alone. There was a Panini press in there somewhere, he’s sure he could’ve made that work instead) and they wanted to know if the lack of cookies was worth it.

By the grins on everyone’s faces, he thinks he won.

Romanov was still smiling when she turned to face him. “I approve.”

Tony gave her a big smile, happy his big reveal had gone so well (neither the glove nor the comms were anywhere near as showy as the bracers). “Any changes you need? Customization? I could engrave ‘Romanov’ on them if you’d like.”

Her lips twitched at that, but she shook her head. “No, I think their good. And I guess you can call me Natasha now. Not ‘Nat’, though. That’s still worth your life.”

Tony mimed zipping his lips and put his hands up in mock surrender.

Cap had been laughing too.  
*  
Right, he’d gotten permission to call Tash by her name. She hadn’t technically allowed the nickname, but he was one to push and hadn’t gotten eviscerated yet.  
*  
“Really, Tony?” Cap was laughing at him, but there was no malice in it. “Drunk university students manage mac and cheese out of the box. How did you mess up this badly?”  
*  
Getting firmly informed not to try to cook anymore. He could have leftovers or convince one of the others to make him something. Oh God, did his head hurt.  
*  
He’d woken up to fingers running through his hair. “”M not a puppy.” He mock growled, turning his head further into the hand despite his words. Cap had laughed at him.

“Did you know you talk in your sleep?” There was laughter in Cap’s voice, too, and Tony scrunched up his nose in denial.

“Do not.”

“You do. And it sounded like you were having pretty interesting dreams, too.” Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’tblushdon’tblushdon’tblush… “Awww, you’re blushing! Wouldn’t have thought you still could.”

Tony buried his face in Cap’s pillow, doing his best to ignore the blonde man behind him. It had been a good dream, and it had featured the one type of sex they hadn’t had: loving. There had been a date, and making out, and then the type of sex where the other person’s body is basically a shrine you’re worshipping and being so careful with. Oh God, he needed to think of something else right now…

“Oh! Wrist mounted tasers!”

Cap gave him an indulgent smile, the hand that had been running through Tony’s hair dropping to the side. “Run that by me again?”

“Wrist mounted tasers! For the girls, when they have to go schmooze for you! Obviously hiding a gun would be really hard to do in their dresses, but I should be able to rig up something that’ll look like bracelets or something…” Tony was out of the bed and halfway dressed before he’d even realized he’d moved. He glanced back at Cap, who had flung himself down on the bed and was currently snuggled up in the sheets.

“You have fun with that.” Cap said, humour and drowsiness competing in his tone. “Oh, and Tony? You’re still blushing.” Tony just flushed harder at that, quickly retreating and pretending not to hear Cap’s muttered. “Gonna have to figure out what you were dreaming of, then do… that…”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Cap.” He murmured to himself as he headed up the stairs, smiling slightly. If only he knew…  
*  
Tony frowned, then sighed. Logic said that came before earlier this week. Okay, definitely a serious something messing with his head, then. Getting out was a slim chance at best. He sighed again, and thought back to his new team. I hope they come for me soon.

And then darkness swallowed him again.  
*  
“Hey! Oh, man, is it my birthday or something? Seriously, this is… This is amazing! Don’t you agree, Anthony?’

Tony raised his head slightly and looked into the eyes of another society brat, much like he used to be. Just his luck that his captors were apparently in bed with Justin Fucking Hammer. The guy hadn’t ever gotten over Tony calling him on his stupidity fifteen years previously. It didn’t help that both of their families had been in the weapons business and he’d been jealous of Tony’s wealth. 

“Justin Hammer, hunh? I guess that makes it official. I’m in Hell.” He nodded decisively as if glad to have that sorted out. Then he looked around, hoping to see something he could use to escape. He’d known, even as a kid, that Hammer would never let something go once he was pissed. It appeared he was about to get a chance to test that hypothesis.

Joy.

“Ah, you’re such a kidder, Anthony. Always the funny man, that’s you. Well, it’s my turn now, but I’m curious, so I’m gonna give the floor back to you for a moment. Where have you been for the last two months, Anthony? We were all worried about you, you know. So why don’t you tell me. What happened?”

Tony grinned, but there was something manic to it. “I’ve been exploring new horizons, that’s all. A new career, if you will. Hell, after putting up with you and Stane, McDonalds sounds like a dream job.”

“Oh, that’s not very nice, Anthony. I’m hurt. I really am.” He looked over at one of the goons behind him. “Why don’t you show him how hurt I am.” The guy just grinned and stepped forward to punch Tony in the stomach.

Tony felt woozy for a moment, but it was nothing he hadn’t expected. “See, Anthony, that’s what you don’t get. “ Hammer told him. “When you say things like that, they hurt people. You don’t want that, do you?” He nodded to his goon, and the man punched Tony again. 

“Let’s see if that’s enough to teach you a lesson.” Hammer said, eyes glinting. “Get the shirt off him. Let’s let him see what’s happening.” He winced as the second guy pulled a knife out and drug it none to gently down his front, briefly stopped only by the dog tags. That was Clint’s favourite Batman shirt, and it was comfy as hell. These guys had no taste or appreciation for quality. Then again, they did work for Hammer…

Fucker’s eyes lit up at the sight of the dog tags. “Oh, Anthony, you still have those? I didn’t have you pegged as that sentimental. Here, why don’t I take those for you, so they don’t get more blood on them.” He reached for the tags, and Tony thrashed and tried to bite him. Hammer just laughed at this proof that his threat was effective. 

There was no way for Tony to effectively fight against the loss of Rhodey’s tags, and he refused to beg for them. Hammer just looked at them with something like awe. “I was thinking I might give these to Stane as a gift. Or maybe I’ll just keep them for myself. You know, as a little reminder of our chat.”

Tony was helpless to stop the angry howl that pulled from his throat at the words, and Hammer looked smug. Just for one moment, but Tony could see his victory clear on his old rival’s face. The the other goon backhanded him, spots appearing in his vision from the force of the blow, but Tony almost didn’t even notice due to his rage.

Then the door was kicked in by a powerful blonde as a pair of black-clad ninjas took out the guards on the door. That the door was kicked in before the guards were down baffled Tony for a moment before he sorted out what was going on.

The big blonde was Thor, and Cap was right behind him.

Hammer, coward that he was, took the side exit in a heartbeat, leaving his two guards to the tender mercies of two professional killers.

The goons didn’t stand a chance, and Tony felt a vindictive thrill as Steve attacked the one that hit him. A kicked out kneecap, a punch to the ribs, and the guy was on the floor. Not even a heartbeat later there was a sharp crack and a bullet through his skull. Thor was just a little faster at taking down his own thug, and so reached Tony just as Clint skidded next to him and sliced through the ropes on his wrists. Tasha was just finishing off the last of the hall guards, and Cap…

Cap had taken a glance around the room, a glance at Tony, contorted his face in rage, and ran out the other door.

Tony felt mostly relief at seeing his friends, but there was a faint thread of hurt that Cap had left himself, not sent one of the others after Hammer. He flopped over onto Thor as Clint finished slicing through his bonds and laughed. “So, I rate the A-team, do I?” He joked, he voice slightly husky. 

Thor folded his arms around Tony, helping him to stand silently. Tasha surprised him by kissing his cheek. Clint lay one hand on his thigh in a show of support and grinned at him. “Yup! None of the rest of us can use that OS you installed. If we didn’t come for you, we’d be forever without lolcats.”

Tony snorted a laugh. “As if that would be a hardship.” He scoffed, and Natasha’s lip twitched up in a grin. 

“Hill and Coulson like them. They’re scary if they’re kept from what they like.” She informed him seriously, and it was his turn to grin.

“Friend Anthony, are you well enough to walk? Or shall I pack you? I am still capable of making good time with you in the bacon carry, and it is not wise to linger in a place like this.” Thor’s voice was decidedly sober, but the other three couldn’t help but laugh at his comment.

“It’s called ‘piggy-back’, big guy. And…” He stumbled as he tried to take a step and his head spun harder. “I think I’ll be taking you up on that offer. I’m not quite up to it myself right now.”

They were silent on the way back. He knew Clint and Natasha were scouting. Thor was being careful not to jostle him, taking extra care with his footing and stride. And Tony? He was moping. Not that he’d admit to it if anyone asked, but yeah. He was moping.  
*  
One of the abilities that made Steve such a good leader was taking in a situation in a glance and making good, solid plans based on just that instant. It was a combination of an artist’s eye for detail and a strategist’s mindset. It usually allowed him to come to calm, rational decisions that were good for everyone, even in the face of live fire or other high stress situations.

Usually.

But when he saw Tony, tied up, woozy, bruised, and even bleeding from a cut down his whole chest, Steve saw red. He forced himself to continue scanning the room and noticed the other exit and a glint of something metallic in the hand of the man fleeing down the hallway.

He was moving before he knew it, completely consumed by hatred of this person who attacked his Tony, and had the inside knowledge and audacity to steal Tony’s dog tags! Steve had never seen Tony without them, had even seen the smaller man get distracted from sex the time he’d fallen onto Steve’s bed with great enthusiasm and they’d somehow managed to bounce off. He’d kept them clenched in his fist for the rest of that encounter, as if afraid he’d lose them if he didn’t keep them held at all times.

Steve was faster than the bastard, that’s for sure, but he was held up briefly by the guards waiting outside the building taking shots at him. He was able to take them out (he was good with his gun), and then had managed to knock the fleeing suit down with a tossed trash can lid. Before the man could get his bearing, Steve was on him, not even caring that it was out in the open, right in the middle of the alley. 

He slammed the mousy little man back into the wall, choking him out with his forearm until weak hands were scrabbling over his arms in a silent plea. He backed off, but only enough to allow a shallow breath. “Who are you? What were you doing back there?” He demanded, and the weasel’s eyes widened. 

“Just…Just a m-messenger here, really. I… uh… I work with Stane, and… uh, Hydra sent a message that they h-had something he w-wanted. H-he sent m-me to check it out.” The man choked out, but Steve had all he needed to know just from that particular stutter on the first word. He remembered most of the names on Tony’s list from the first night, especially after he realized most of them were probably involved in Tony’s mistreatment by the corporate world. 

“Justin Hammer, hmm? Am I right?” The terrified squeak he got from the other man was confirmation enough. “How did Hydra get their grubby paws on Tony?” He demanded, his voice harsh with restrained violence. 

Hammer didn’t say anything, so Steve stomped on his foot hard enough to make something crack in the expensive loafers that were so out of place in this part of town. He spared a moment to be glad Hydra ruled by terror, because anywhere else the screams would have been reported. “I asked you a question. I expect an answer.”

“D-Deadpool.” He cried. “Stane didn’t believe Tony was dead because there was no body, so he put out the money to have Deadpool hunt him down. Hydra was a go-between, that’s all.”

Steve nodded his head and released Hammer’s neck. Instead of letting the terrified man make another run for it, though, he grabbed his hand.

The hand still clutching Tony’s dog tags.

He took the wrist in one hand and wrenched the fingers back, ignoring the cracking noises and scream in favour of pulling the tags off and looping them around his own neck. “You and Stane made a big mistake, you know. I was always going to take his little empire down, since he crossed me first, but now I’ve decided that I’m going to destroy him. Do you know why?”

He grabbed both sides of the whimpering man’s face. “Because you harmed someone I wanted to protect. You hurt someone that’s mine!” He snapped Hammer’s neck, letting the body drop at his feet. “And I don’t ever forgive that.” He tossed out as turned on his heel and headed off. He needed to get home, needed to see Tony.

Tony!  
*  
“So what happened?” Tony asked his bevy of nursemaids once they got him back to HQ, showered (with Clint and Thor helping and keeping him up), dressed (Tony’d insisted on a button down that hadn’t been washed since he’d stolen it from Steve earlier that week, saying it’d let people prod at him easier), and drinking hot chocolate (for the sugar and the liquids to keep him from collapsing from shock). Bruce was staring rather intently at his chest, cleaning the scrape, but the others exchanged a glance before looking back at him.

“We were hoping you could tell us.” Clint said, perplexed. “You were the only one in the room at the time, after all. I’d just gotten up to grab us some muffins, and then you were gone. We wouldn’t have even known what was happening as fast as we did if your camera-messing program wasn’t set up to text the Captain. I was just looking around to see if you’d wandered off when he came storming over, demanding you.”

“Demanding me?” Tony replied archly, raising his brows. Natasha slapped his thigh lightly.

“Nothing like that. He got a text saying ‘camera’s wonky, see Tony’ and came looking for you. We had to call in help to sort out your tracer, but eventually got it followed back to one of Hydra’s main bases. As soon as we had a target, he led us in there. It’s only been a day, actually.”

“Still one day too long.” Clint muttered, and Thor was scowling like he agreed.

“Which is why you really need to have a backup IT guy. You’ll meet him tomorrow.” Said a voice Tony’d been missing in his ear as something dropped over his neck. He turned his head into Cap’s chest as two strong arms came up to anchor him in a half-nelson grab that Tony knew was due to his wounded chest. Lips pressed softly to the hollow behind his jaw in a sort of apology, but Tony just ignored the meaning in favour of the touch. It wasn’t until something scraped across his cut that he hissed and remembered the other thing.

He glanced down, then stared at the oblong disks, reading a name he knew by touch. James Rhodes, it said, and it was the most important thing he’d ever owned. He’d thought they were gone forever (Cap would chase down bad guys, but he wasn’t some street punk to go through their pockets), so seeing them back where they should be was all it took to tear down the façade of strong he’d erected since finding himself in that room, tied to that chair. 

He started sobbing, and Cap scooted around to clutch him to his chest, encasing him in strong arms. He’d been terrified in that room. Not of Hammer, but Hammer worked closely with Stane nowadays. Tony wasn’t sure if he was hoping to be killed quickly or imprisoned and forced to build things for the company. Either was horrifying, and together… He was going to have nightmares, he just knew it. Then his friends had come in, and there’d been so much blood and he could hear bones snapping… And then Cap had run off, and just for a moment he’d been scared of his friends. Then, back here, he’d been thinking that loose ends were more important to Cap than him (Clint or Natasha could have run down Hammer easily) and then he’d come and he’d brought Rhodey’s tags back with him…

He just clung to the man before him, desperately needing the firm hold and strong arms. Needing a grounding point, and finding it in the scent of Cap and the familiar feel of the muscles under his hands. He didn’t even notice when Cap picked him up, packing him downstairs easily.  
*  
He’d thought that the thing Tony would be happiest about when he got back to the safehouse was the dog tags, so Steve was surprised when Tony hadn’t even noticed them being returned at first. Instead, the smaller man had just curled up against his stomach, looking for Steve. 

He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. 

He wasn’t used to being around people so easily shaken up, and he’d thought Tony tougher than that. He’d taken being basically kidnapped by a gun-toting mobster remarkably well. This was a little more, well, normal than he expected from Tony. Tony defied the very concept of normal in most cases, so it was a little disconcerting to have him act this way in a crisis situation.

Though… Tony hadn’t looked anywhere near as shaken up at the compound. Even when he was back, surrounded by his closest friends in the group, he had kept his composure. It was only after both Steve and the tags had shown up…

Steve got it suddenly and clutched Tony tighter, making soothing sounds and kissing at the cheek and jaw he could see. “Shh, shh, it’s okay, Tony. It’s okay, I’m here. I won’t let them have you. Never let them have you. You’re mine, you’re one of us, and we will always come for you. I will always come for you. Promise. I promise, Tony. I’ve got you, you’re okay. They’re gone, they can’t hurt you anymore. You’re here, you’re with me, it’s okay, it’ll be okay…”

Tony just clung to him, weeping.  
*  
Steve still had too much tension in his body to drift off when Tony finally fell asleep. He debated on hitting the gym, but decided against it in favour of getting a shower and talking with his team. They could start getting the intel to go from here, and sorting out some of what happened would help him settle.

He crawled out from under Tony carefully, noting the way he huffed in annoyance, his nose wrinkling cutely, and groped blindly at the sheets before settling back down with mumbling grouchiness. Steve let out the breath he’d been holding on an amused huff. Tony was far too exhausted to wake up, but it was nice to know his presence was appreciated. He leaned down to kiss Tony’s forehead, only realizing what he was doing halfway there. 

He paused, looking intently. His eyebrows slowly raised as he considered the last day, then the last two months, and came to some conclusions that should have been startling. 

They weren’t. He should have figured out a while ago how far gone he was over Tony. He hadn’t wanted to feel this way, not after Peggy, but he couldn’t deny that’s what it was now. He let out a small huff of annoyance at himself before finishing the kiss. Then he pulled Tony’s jeans off carefully and slid the covers over the smaller man. He grabbed one of the hands that reached for him every time he got close and pressed a kiss to knuckles that were probably permanently grease encrusted before laying it back on the bed.

He had some things to do. But he’d be back.  
*  
”Deadpool.” Was all he had to say to the group tossing ideas around in the living room. They all turned to him, and he could see the grimness in their eyes.

“Someone wanted him bad enough to hire that merc? Are they insane?” Clint finally squeaked out, looking shocked. No one could blame him. Deadpool was almost a legend, albeit an annoyingly alive one. Steve pulled out his phone, calling one of his other houseleaders and quickly explaining the situation. 

Logan growled, his irritation clear even over speakerphone. “Crazy bastard. One good thing: asshole refuses to kidnap the same person for the same group more than once. He thinks that if you’re stupid enough to lose them, you don’t want them enough to waste his time on regardless of the price. Plus he hates corporate bigwigs, so it must have been an incredible payout for Stane to get him to begin with.”

“Is there a chance he could come for Tony because they lost him before he could get paid?” Banner questioned, worry clear in his tone.

Logan’s harsh laugh showed what he thought of that. “If they refused to pay him because of something that happened after he dropped your kid off, Wilson’d be in Stane’s office by morning, slicing off bits with the katana till the funds transfer went through. Even odds if Stane’d still be alive afterwards.”

Logan had worked with Deadpool a long time ago, well before joining Steve’s group. He was probably the closest to knowing how the insane man’s head worked. “Is there any chance he might decide to try again?” Steve asked, needing to know for sure. “Any weak points, and incentive?”

“Bastard’s unpredictable, but we’ll probably be fighting dinosaurs in the middle of the street before that happens.” Logan answered without hesitation and Steve let out a sigh of relief. Deadpool was good, and he only ever needed one chance. If he was after Tony, they’d need people on him all the time, and alert all the time. It was always easier for the thieves than the protectors.

He thanked the man and hung up. He looked at his followers, and they looked back at him. He could read the expression they all shared as easy as a book. “He’s fine. He’s sleeping. I’m going to wake him up every hour or so to make sure his head’s not getting worse. Thor, go meet up with Hill, she needs you for an op. Romanov, see if you can’t contact Deadpool and arrange a meeting. I’d like to confirm Logan’s opinion, if possible. Banner, keep watch on the computers. Let me know if either the cameras or the server shows anything by Hydra. Barton…” The sniper just flicked his head towards the kitchen, his face unreadable. Steve frowned, then shrugged and followed the other man into the kitchen.

“You were a little scary today. More than when Bobbie got caught sneaking out of AIM’s compound a few months ago.” The man said by way of opening, knowing Steve would understand. 

He didn’t even consider pretending not to. “Tony’s mine. All of you are, but Tony even moreso. Especially because he doesn’t have our combat training.”

“Ah.” Bart… Clint, he couldn’t even pretend to be professional here, just wanted to discuss his newly noticed feelings with a friend, somehow. Make them real, not just in his head. Clint was looking at him oddly, and Steve was sure his thoughts were written on his face. “And this is no longer a bad idea?” He questioned carefully, and Steve could only sigh and lean against the wall behind him.

“I don’t know. I just… I don’t know. I know what I want it to be but… If it’s a bad idea, for any of the myriad of reasons it could be, then we’re already well and truly fucked. And if it’s like Peggy or Xavier, then I’ll take the damn shot myself this time. I don’t… I couldn’t go through that again, Clint. Not with Tony.” He wasn’t sure what his face was saying, but he was sure Clint understood it anyway.

Clint was good at that.

The man just gave a slow nod, obviously thinking, before flicking his hand at the door. “Better get back to him, then.”

“Thanks, Clint.” He said. Clint just herded him towards the door, not saying anything more. Steve knew he understood. That was enough.  
*  
“Tony? Tony, wake up. Wake up, sweetheart, that’s it. Come on, Tony, I need you to wake up.” It was a voice Tony knew he should obey, so he fuzzily reached out for it and tried to pull his brain out of its fog.

“Whazzit? Cap? ‘S mornin’? Just gimme a moment…” He put his hand to his head, wondering why he felt so bad. Even his benders usually didn’t leave him like this. Except for that time at MIT…

Oh. Knockout drugs, that explained it. And… Oh. Ribs hurt. Maybe he got in a fight? But he didn’t do that anymore, did he? Not even really bad idea type sex. Cap was occasionally rough and powerful, which was hot as fuck, but he would never hurt Tony.

Cap. Mob. Kidnapping. Hammer. Fight. Right, that’s what he’d been missing.

He jerked fully awake, sitting up with a startled shout and almost braining the good Captain. The blonde didn’t look annoyed, though. He was smiling. Tony was going to count that as a good thing. “What?” He asked, wondering why Cap had woken him up. Normally he was allowed to pass out here for a while if he was that exhausted. It had only happened a time or two, but still…

No one needed to know how he cherished the memories.

“How’s your head?” Cap asked, still smiling but with an edge of concern now. 

“My head?” Tony frowned lightly considering. “Still woozy. Whatever took my out is still lingering in my system. Bruce took a blood sample, though. Oh, did he get his results? Were they bad? It that why you woke me?”

Cap’s face twisted into a scowl, but his eyes were still soft. “You think it was some sort of drug, then? Not a concussion?”

Tony shrugged, grimacing when hit bruising made itself known again. “There’s no point it’s radiating out from, and my head doesn’t hurt the way concussions do. It’s more like what roofies does.”

Cap was tight-lipped now. “It worries me how you acquired all this fascinating knowledge, Tony.” He admitted, and Tony grinned.

“Don’t give me that, I’ve told you about my college days. If it makes you feel better, no one’s spiked my drink in about four years. I was getting better at watching it, and then I got myself disowned. Remember?”

“I remember. That still doesn’t make me feel any better about it.”

“’S fine.” He said, flapping a hand negligently before planting his face in Cap’s chest. “Not happening now, so it’s fine. I’m good here.” The blonde was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, his normal sleeping gear, and Tony finally figured out that the man just must want him out of his bed so he could have it again, and went to move.

Cap’s arms tightened around him as soon as he tried to shift, and then the man was lowering him back to the sheets and sliding in next to him. “I thought you might have a concussion.” He admitted as he adjusted the covers. “I didn’t want you going comatose, that’s all. Shh, it’s okay, go back to sleep now.”

So Tony let himself be pulled half on top of Cap and drifted off, lulled by the fingers running through his hair.


End file.
